After D.C. Councilman and former crack-smoking Mayor Marion Barry was involved in a car crash, reporters began delving into Barry's parking tickets on the DMV website and discovered $2,824 in unpaid parking and speeding tickets.
When FOX reporter Emily Miller cornered Barry to ask him about some of these tickets, Barry did not respond well to questioning, berating the young reporter and telling her she should find something else to do.
Barry asked Miller how long she had been reporting, and, upon hearing that she had started at FOX in April, began to lecture her: "In this town we decide what's important what's not important. With all the stuff that's going on… you're talking about parking tickets? That's ridiculous."
"But you have $600 in outstanding parking tickets," Miller objected.
"I may have more than that, I don't know," Barry replied breezily, insisting that he intended to pay them all.
"Well these are from 2012 and 2013, I'll show them to you--"
"I don't want to see them! I want you to go find something else to do," Barry snapped, shooing Miller away.
"I pay all my tickets," Barry insisted.
"You don't, sir," Miller replied, pointing out that most people are required to pay parking tickets within 30 days.
"You've just been here since April. You don't know a damn thing about Washington, D.C.," Barry told Miller.
"Really, sir? I don't know a damn thing about Washington, D.C. because you won't pay your parking tickets?" Miller shot back.
Barry then claimed that one set of plates the DMV listed as his did not belong to him, and told Miller to "check it out" for him.
FOX also detailed a list of other driving violations racked up by Barry, including "driving on the wrong side of the street, not having insurance, and driving with expired tags."
According to Miller, Barry paid off some of his fines after the DMV reduced the charges by $1,000 and did not charge him their customary late fees.